peeling paint, moisture damage around shower area

We've got an old shower which only has tile right up to the shower door. Outside of the shower and the frame where the shower door is attached is not tiled. (old house) Needless to say, we've got a bad problem with flaking and peeling, especially on corners near the shower door. Moisture, etc... I can't re-tile it right now, but I'm not sure of what steps to take to make sure the moisture problem is eliminated. Any step-by-step suggestions? (Is this as easy as simply stripping all the paint off and priming the area with some kind of sealant before repainting?) I'm clueless when it comes to walls which are near water or moisture. Thanks for your help before hand!!!

Chipper

 

Peeling paint usually is the result of poor adhesion of the paint to the surface, or moisture inside the painted surface working its way out and pushing the paint off of the surface it is on. No amount of surface prep will prevent moisture from pushing paint off a wall if the moisture is behind the paint in the wall. Also, ideally, the tile should extend under the shower doorframe, such that the frame is mounted fully on tile.

It is hard to give the solution to the problem b/c it is not clear what the problem is. If it is water getting through the grout & tile and into a substandard substrate (such as drywall or greenboard), then the solution is to re-tile using a poly moisture barrier followed by an appropriate cement backer board product designed for a wet location, followed by tile bonded to the cement board using thinset mortar.

Another possible cause of the problem may be water getting between the tile and the shower doorframe. How does the caulking look between the tile and the shower doorframe? Is it soft and flexible with good coverage, or is it hard and dry with gaps and cracks? If the caulking is not in good condition, it is suggested that you remove the shower door and clean off the surface of any residual caulk. Once cleaned-up, reinstall that door frame. Suggest you use a bead of pure silicone caulk between the wall and the back of the frame, and another bead (once the frame is reinstalled) where the doorframe meets the tile). Make sure to get good coverage spanning the gap between the frame and tile.

Question: are there moisture problems that are noticeable from the floor below this shower?

 

"Also, ideally, the tile should extend under the shower doorframe, such that the frame is mounted fully on tile. "

You hit the nail on the head. Thanks for your help with this. What you wrote is exactly what the problem is. The tile stops right at the frame, and doesn't extend under (or on the sides) of the shower doorframe. I thought it was kind of strange when we first moved into the house. I bet the guy before me did it on his own and therefor didn't do it properly.

Thanks for your help. Since I won't have time for a few months to completely re-tile it correctly, I'm going to do the best I can for now, including properly sealing the shower doorframe (which upon closer inspection wasn't sealed AT ALL! Yikes!) Again, thank you!

 

If there was no silicone caulking between the tile and the doorfroame, that is at least 90% of your problem.

 

I agree. Surprised to find that there was no type of bond around the shower door frame. But, even worse, the tile doesn't extend from the shower area out towards the shower door frame area. So I've got paint peeling from the 'exposed' wall....about 6-8 inches from where the tile ends at the corner of the shower and the shower door.

It really should have been tiled completely, but what can I do now as a temporary 'fix' until I have time in 5-6 months to start re-tiling the whole thing? Anything out there besides a stain blocker/primer?

Thanks for the help!

Chipper

 

I would just caulk the joint between the tile and the frame, and scrape/repaint the peeling area, with no special attention to primers, etc. When you retile, you will prolly be covering the area up, anyway.